February 2019 – Camino PCT

You would think applying for a PCT permit online over the internet would be relatively simple in our day and age……..well it is and it is not.

Going back a bit to give you a bit of context will help to understand the dilemma of the permit application.

The Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA) was pretty well forced a number of years ago to introduce a permit system restricting entry to the trail for long-distance hikers to 50 people per day. This occurred as an outcome of the popularity of the trail and the huge growth in numbers all wanting to start the trail during a relatively small window. Hikers walking >500 miles are required to get a permit.

Months of comments on the 2019 PCT Facebook page about fears of not getting the start date you want certainly didn’t help alleviate the pressure we felt on permit application day. 35 permits are issued November 14th and the remaining 15 are issued on the 15th of January.

The process seemed simple enough, go to the PCTA website, go to the permit page, press Go, collect $200 – not quite…..the permits are free. You get a place in a queue, you get emailed when it is your turn to enter the permit waiting room, fill out your form and then select the date you want to start – hey presto – permit applied for!

Unfortunately, it didn’t work that way. We two, at the kitchen table, permit day, laptop each, fingers poised as we counted down to permit time…..

3

2

1 Enter

I get place 567 in the queue, Anna gets 3670. I’m finished within 15 minutes, date selected is Uncle Rick’s birthday and off to work. Anna two hours later manages to get the nearest date available slot a week earlier.

I emailed the PCTA suggesting that this totally disadvantages internationals who aim to hike together as they need to book flights and accommodation etc. The PCTA thanked me for my feedback and suggested Anna has another go in January.

Luckily our trail angels in San Diego didn’t mind accepting our booking as long as both had valid permits and didn’t start any earlier than either date.

3 weeks waiting for approval and Done!